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McLaren MP4/4
|engine = |displacement = 1494 |length = |width = |height = |designer = Steve Nichols Gordon Murray |years = |constructors = |races = 16 |wins = 15}} The McLaren MP4/4 was the Formula One car raced by in the season. It was designed by Steve Nichols. The car was an evolution based the car on the MP4/3 from 1987. It was driven by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. It had a turbo engine. The MP4/4 was one of the most dominant cars in F1 history, winning fifteen out of the sixteen races, Senna with eight and Prost had seven. Senna won the title, scoring 90 points (94 gross), three more than Prost, whose 87 came from 105 gross points, the first time a driver had scored over 100 points in a season (back then, only the first six scored points, with the winner scoring nine). The constructors' championship shows a more telling story. McLaren, with 199 points, scored only two points less than the entire field, and second-placed , with 65, had less than a third of McLaren's total. The team broke their points record by 55.5 points. The record was surpassed in just 11 races, with both championships being held over 16 races. They set a record of ten one–two finishes, which is yet to be broken. Ferrari came closest in with nine. The one race that got away from McLaren was the , where after Prost had earlier retired with an engine failure, Senna had a collision with Jean-Louis Schlesser and was unable to continue. Ferrari scored a one–two. The MP4/4 is featured in various video games such as Forza Motorsport 6 and F1 2017. In F1 2017, the car is downloadable content. It is also featured in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec but does not have the MP4/4 livery and appears under the name F688/S. Design The Steve Nichols designed McLaren MP4/3 with its maximum power output of approximately 850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS) from its Porsche built TAG V6 engine lost out nine times to the dominant Honda powered Williams of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell, twice to the Lotus-Honda of Ayrton Senna, and twice in the latter stages to the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger. Reigning World Champion Prost could only manage three wins for the season (his lowest number since taking 2 wins for Renault in 1982), and finished 4th in the Drivers' Championship, though his win in Portugal was cause for celebration as it was the Frenchman's 28th career win, taking him past the previous record of 27 wins by triple World Champion Jackie Stewart. For 1988 McLaren had secured use of the 1.5L V6 Honda turbo engines which since late in the 1985 season had been the best engine in Formula One. With the engines coming at the expense of Williams (who had won the previous two Constructors' Championships from McLaren), a strong 1988 was possible. Team boss Ron Dennis had previously tried to secure Honda engines for his Formula 2 team and welcomed the Japanese company after four successful years with the TAG engines. 1988 was due to be the last year for the turbo engines before they were banned, so most teams were making a concerted effort to establish themselves with naturally aspirated cars. Steve Nichols went ahead with the design of the car on a purely turbo engine basis, which put the team at a distinct advantage over their rivals. There was speculation that Honda would introduce their V10 engine during 1988, though Ron Dennis confirmed during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza that racing the V10 was never part of the plan for 1988. The team tried active suspension in early testing, but abandoned the idea. The car only had a few aerodynamic upgrades all season. Specifications Chassis Transmission Engine Dimensions and weights Chassis Log MP4/4-01 Was not used for testing. Currently owned by . MP4/4-02 Was used in the first 1988 Imola Pre-Season Test (Prost and Senna). Currently privately owned. MP4/4-03 Was declared the primary test car, and thus ended up as the only MP4/4 chassis to not win a race. Currently privately owned. MP4/4-04 This car was not used for testing. Currently privately owned. MP4/4-05 Used in one test. Currently owned by . MP4/4-06 Not used in any tests. Currently privately owned. Statistical overview Race Victories Complete Formula One Results Notes Further Reading * Category:Cars Category:McLaren Cars Category:1988 Cars Category:World Drivers' Championship winning cars Category:World Constructors' Championship winning cars